Need some input on yet ANOTHER change...

[RPDwifey2819]

Ok, you know that moment when you thought you had a good plan and then suddenly.... well, you don't. Yeah. That's me. I have to scrap it all. DD just isn't ready for what I have for her and well, DS is bored to tears and thinks as long as he flies through his math and reading he's free to do whatever. Well, that's not learning at all. And, to be blunt, it SUCKS.

 

So, how about some feedback :D ;)

 

I looked through the K4 curriculum from Confessions of a Homeschooler for DD (5). It looks like something colorful enough and inviting enough to keep her busy when I have to do one on one things with DS. http://store.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=70_72&products_id=183

 

I realized today that DD can't even recognize half of her numbers :( Blah :(

 

I would also like to do the Pre-Level for All About Reading with her too. I think she'd connect with it.

 

As much as I wanted to get into Konos with my kids, the same library books have been here and sat untouched. I think I will have to go back to unit studies and add in hands on learning through those.

 

DS is also bored to tears with ABeCeDarian. So, perhaps I will go back to the Reading Encyclopedia from Child 1st to help him there and just start All About Spelling. (if you don't recall previous posts- DS is dyslexic and dysgraphic and gifted all at the same time!)

 

HWOT and Draw Write Now will stay. They like them.

 

Any thoughts from the public here?

 

***As an aside, I think, too, that I am disheartened. School was so easy for me at DD's age. And, here, I now have a second child showing struggles to learn what came naturally to me :(

[jenL]

No advice. Just :grouphug:.

 

We're having a hard time here too. I just posted about my struggles.

[Lecka]

I have used AAS and Abecedarian -- if the change works, great! My son was not super-excited about either one, though. I would do 1) use a timer, make the time very short, a time you KNOW will not be too long, even if it is a ridiculously short time. 2) Choose times that are likely to be GOOD times. 3) consider rewards for a good attitude for his AAS/Abedecedarian/other phonics/reading.

 

I have told my son, many times, he may think something is boring, but he may not give me an attitude. And, I will give him praise and rewards for good attitude.

 

Even corny tokens or marks on a paper, to add up to something, for good attitude as we went through, could make a difference for him. It is NOT the kind of thing I would usually ever do.

 

All of the early reading stuff, all of it, was pretty painful for ds -- but some he could do, some he could not. If he was at all able to do a program, then there is no way I would let him say he was bored. If he could switch between programs covering similar topics, then I think it is great to give him a choice of what he wants to work on. Maybe some choices about the order to do things in. Anything, lol.

[PeterPan]

Maybe you could fill in your sig? Somehow I missed the ages of your kids and what you're currently using and just basics like that. Anyways, AAR pre goes really well with the MFW K5. I'm using it now with my ds, and it gives that unit study effect while taking care of the bulk of the work for me. I enjoy it MUCH more than I expected. AAR pre- is so-so. It only teaches the first sound of each letter, when I prefer to teach all of them. The older the child, the more I'd be inclined to teach all the sounds. That's an easy fix. I rearranged all the AAR pre pages to be a letter of the week study to go with the MFW K5. The MFW K5 set-up is AWESOME. It gives me enough structure to make my life good but not so much that I feel confined to someone else's plan. It's just perfect. Just skip the blending worksheets. It would be that substitute for Konos. It also hits basic number awareness.

 

For your older dc, how old is he? What level? What are you currently using? If you're doing all skills stuff and never getting to the fun, that's no fun. I like having something that gives me structure on the fun. Then you just sneak a little bit of skills work into your fun.

[RPDwifey2819]

Well, I have the best laid plans and the just have not materialized.

 

I haven't added a siggy. I just don't like all that info on there.

 

DS is almost 8. He has dx of ADHD, SPD, anxiety, Dyslexia, and Dysgraphia.

 

DD is 5.5. She has no dx but shares some of the same characteristics as her brother.

 

Our "frame" this year was to be Konos but that never materialized. The kids were D.O.N.E. by the time we finished mandatory subjects that I couldn't fight with them to make them continue on with me.

 

For our core subjects, I am using:

MUS for both (DD Primer; DS Alpha) and Life of Fred

Real Science 4 Kids (yet haven't cracked this yet b/c of time and patience)

HWOT/Draw Write Now

ABeCeDarian reading for DS

Reading Eggs for both

Child 1st reading supplements (SNAP words)

HOP for DD

Bible Lesson

 

And, all I seem to be getting to these days is Bible, reading/phonics and math. Nothing else gets accomplished.

 

DD "hates" school and fights me. DS is just bored.

 

Learning was so much fun when all we did was book units. Now that I have to "teach" them something they are disengaged and checked out.

[PeterPan]

That's funny that you mention book units. When I read your ages and list of stuff, my suggestion was going to be FIAR. It's enough meat for those ages and would fit the style you seem to like without being as involved as something like Konos. You can do it with FIAR picture books and then slide right into history-themed picture books if you want (D'Aulaires, Wanderings of Odysseus, etc.). Or milk the geography component of FIAR. You can get plenty of meat there to buy you a year.

 

You don't actually need to *teach* them. You teach them to read and do math. The rest is more you facilitating them. I wouldn't try to teach them. And for the math and LA, well I would set a timer and stop when it goes off. Short, short sessions so you actually get to the fun stuff. Try using a timer and move on, even if they haven't finished. Might blow their minds. Sometimes longer sessions on skills things are counter-productive. Five minutes can be plenty if they're actually really engaged for that 5 minutes.

[RPDwifey2819]

That's funny that you mention book units. When I read your ages and list of stuff, my suggestion was going to be FIAR. It's enough meat for those ages and would fit the style you seem to like without being as involved as something like Konos. You can do it with FIAR picture books and then slide right into history-themed picture books if you want (D'Aulaires, Wanderings of Odysseus, etc.). Or milk the geography component of FIAR. You can get plenty of meat there to buy you a year.

 

You don't actually need to *teach* them. You teach them to read and do math. The rest is more you facilitating them. I wouldn't try to teach them. And for the math and LA, well I would set a timer and stop when it goes off. Short, short sessions so you actually get to the fun stuff. Try using a timer and move on, even if they haven't finished. Might blow their minds. Sometimes longer sessions on skills things are counter-productive. Five minutes can be plenty if they're actually really engaged for that 5 minutes.

 

Thank you for that! Seriously. I think I need "permission" to do that. LOL! Last year I wouldn't have stressed at all.... and didn't! I just did what we wanted to learn. This year, I felt pressured for DS to read and write to grade level and I just went overboard in trying to "plan" structured learning and its failing miserably.

 

Back to what I know! FIAR has always "fit" our style better anyway (I'm a former LA teacher so I guess it makes sense)

 

Thanks again!

[Lecka]

I think FIAR is great.

 

In the summer -- schedules for me doing Abecedarian/phonemic awareness/AAS/etc have looked like.... 5 minutes with breakfast, try for 10 minutes mid-morning, 5 minutes before lunch, 5 minutes in the middle of the afternoon, reading together in the evening, then me reading to him in the evening and him not required to read.

 

I fit it around by being like -- do this small amount, then we eat; or do this small amount, then we go swimming. If he likes his story times then maybe those could even be the carrots.

 

I also make an assumption -- it is boring/unpleasant b/c it is hard and tiresome and unnatural. That is how it is for my son.

 

My son used to hate Abecedarian sometimes... I printed out the word box things, and once he could read them well, he would very proudly crumple them up and throw them in the trash. Sigh.

 

My son is close in age (7) and I really have no concern for him writing or producing written work or producing content. I don't think it is important at all for this age.

 

But... I think reading is important... but my son got 30 minutes in easily with 3 5-minute sessions, one 10-minute, and then evening reading together. I used to throw in more 10-minute sessions in on occassion, also, depending on our schedule. But the basic schedule got us to 30 minutes a day, and without much heartache.

 

But it was also clear -- it was appropriate for him.

 

Maybe bored means he can skip ahead, instead.

 

(And when we first started, I did have a longer block of time in the morning -- I spent about 90 minutes just with him, and that was spent playing and doing phonemic awareness and AAS on the dry erase board -- so it was kind-of fun. And I always wanted to do extra 10-minutes or 5-minutes here and there. But our basic schedule got us to 30 minutes without too much problem.

 

Oh -- and we did it 7 days a week, so I think I had it worked out it was adding up to a good amount of time over 7 days, and that made it much easier and less stressful. There was some weekly amount of time I wanted to get to, and I think I always did. Five hours a week or something. I don't remember now. I think I was going by recommendations from Overcoming Dyslexia or the Barton website. It is fuzzy now.

Edited September 26, 2012 by Lecka

[RPDwifey2819]

Thanks Lecka! That was really helpful :)

 

I think perhaps DS is bored with ABeCeDarian b/c it is what he knows. Its far too easy for him. I need to move him into A-2. I just started at the beginning b/c I thought we needed to get the foundation in.

 

I do have a reward system in place. I have a chart and for every completed subject they fill 1 box with a stamp. When its all full, they each can turn it in for a reward from the Dollar Store. DS and DD have filled theirs already so I need to make a point to get to the dollar store today for that :)

 

It will take some tweeking but I can get back to what we did last year and stop stressing. DS and DD are on a different time table than I was and I just need to accept that.

[Lecka]

He might even be ready for B.

[RPDwifey2819]

I considered that but there are parts in A-2 he doesn't grasp yet so I will have to review those first.

[Lecka]

:)

[RPDwifey2819]

So, we went to the library armed with topics of their choice related to the zoo. (we just went on Monday) We left with about 50 books (seriously- i am shocked they didn't cut us off!) We will begin our literature based study of Africa and animals of the zoo. We will also explore how zoo keepers work and get to be zoo keepers.

 

I printed out some of the Confessions of a Homeschooler for DS and DD today to do while I read Life of Fred. DD did her sheets without complaint and so did DS. I think this may work out after all--- just not the way I expected it to nor the way my left brain wants it to. :P